Cushion-tire.



'THOMAS PURCELL, F RGANOKE, VIRGINIA.

CUSHION-$333.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 39, 1910.

Application filed July 15, 1909. Serial No. 507,831.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS PURonLL, a

A citizen of the United States, residing at Roanoke, in the county ofRoanoke and State of Virginia, have invented new and useful Improvemrntsin Cushion-Tires, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cushiontires'for automobile and other vehiclewheels,the .ob jcct of the invention being to provide a tire which,while being free from liability of puncture, will'give the desiredelastic or cushioning effect, and which is composed of sectionsdetachably mounted upon the wheel and rim in such a manner as topermitof the ready removal of a worn or in ured sectionand the substitution'ofa new section therefor. I

The invention consists of the features of construction, combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accom panying drawings, in w'hichz- Figure 1 1s a sideelevation, partially in section, of a velucle-wheel and tire embodyingmy invention. Fig. 2 is a cross section' on the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig.3 is a sectional View of one of the blocks or sections of the. tire.

Referring to the drawing, 1 designates the wheel rim or felly, whichis'of channeled form and may be made of wood, metal or other suitablematerial. The tire 2 is composed of an annular series of blocks 3, eachcomposed of rubber or other desired elastic material possessing therequisite amount of resiliency. Each of these blocks is co-extensive inwidth with the channel and formed to fit within the same, said blocksbeing tapered outwardly or segmentally shaped so as to provide for theirproper aggroupmeut-to form a circular tire within and around the wheelrim.

The blocks are provided with alinin openings for the passage of aholding ban or core by which they are fastened in position upon thewheel rim. core preferably consists of a flexible metallic tube,althoughit may be made of other suitable material, one end of said tubebeing l mgittn'linally tapered, as shown at (i, to lit within the otherend 7 thereof, by which This band or an efie'ctive form of joint betweenthe ends is formed.

At desired intervals circumferentially of the rim, the core 5 isconnected thereto by coupling members 8, each preferably consisting ofan eye bolt having its eye engaged with the core 5.and the threadedportion of this shank extending radially inward through an opening inthe rim and fastened thereto against outward displacement by a nut 9.For the accommodation of this bolt, the meeting faces of the adjacent;tire sections orblocks 3 may be grooved, if desired, so as to preventundue compression thereof.

It will be understood from the foregoing description that a tirecomposed of a series of elastic blocks of the construction describedWill be sufliciently resilient to absorb the shocks and jars resultingfrom the passage of the wheels over uneven surfaces,

while it is not susceptible of puncture or like lnjury sash as pneumatictires are subject to, whereby the efliciency of the tire is impaired. Itwill further be seen that the tiguousblocks removed and otherssubstituted therefor, or by detaching a greater or lesser number of theeye bolts, as occasion may require, the core may be freed for anydistance from its ends so that the blocks may he slipped oil and othersapplied in their place. Repairs may 'tln s' e easily and convenientlymade within a minimum amount of time.

Having thus described the invention What is claimed as new is A vehicleWheel comprisin a channeled rim, a tire composed of a semen of resilientsegmental blocks, the meeting faces of some of said'blocks at spacedintervals around the rim being provided with grooved opposing faces, atubular core extending through andconnecting the blocks, one end of saidcore being expanded to conical form and the other. reduced to taperedform to telescope within the same, eye-bolts arranged between thelnccsof the grooved hloc rs and seated Within the reeves to permit thefacesto snugly abut, smd bolts extending radially between said blocksandhaving their eyes In testimony whereof I my signature 1n presence oftwo wltnesses.

THGMAS 1% UR engaging the tubular core and their threaded shanksextending inwarclly Witnesses: through the rim, and nuts on said shanksR. H. ANGELL. fastenmg the bolts to the rim. G. R. PARIS.

